Idaho governor hopes to revive sheep dispute talks

Idaho Gov. (C.L.) Butch Otter is trying to revive his collaboration on bighorn and domestic sheep months after the effort blew up following a controversial law approved by the Idaho Legislature.

Otter's spokesman Jon Hanion said Otter has been making calls to the former participants trying to get them back to the table.

"We are and have been trying to get those folks to re-engage," he said. "We will be inviting them back formally and informally."

Last year, Otter invited parties to a long-running dispute about grazing domestic sheep in areas occupied by wild bighorns to participate in a collaborative effort looking for a solution to the controversial issue. Most wildlife biologists believe bighorn sheep are susceptible to contracting pneumonia when they come in contact with domestic sheep. There have been numerous cases throughout the West where bighorn herds have become infected with disease resulting in all-age die-offs.

Environmental groups and the Nez Perce Tribe challenged a Payette National Forest plan in 2007 that would have allowed domestic sheep grazing to continue near Hells Canyon and the Salmon River canyon. The agency reversed course on its plan and is in the process of issuing new rules that could dramatically curtail domestic sheep grazing in the area.

Sheep ranchers like Mick Carlson of Riggins and Ron Shirts of Weiser say the new rules could put them out of business. Last winter, while the collaborative talks were ongoing, the Idaho Legislature passed a law requiring the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to enter into voluntary agreements with sheep ranchers aimed at keeping domestic sheep and wild sheep separate while allowing them to both occupy the same general area.

Earlier this month, Fish and Game Director Cal Groen certified that 11 such plans reached with ranchers reduced the threat of contact between the two species to the point grazing is acceptable to bighorn sheep viability. Four other ranchers declined to participate and another three, including Carlson and Shirts, have not been able to come to an agreement acceptable to them and the department.

When Otter signed the law, the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Conservation League and the Wild Sheep Foundation dropped out of the collaborative talks in protest.

On Thursday, Neil Thagard of the Wild Sheep Foundation at Cody, Wyo., said his group reluctantly agreed to return to the talks.

"We said 'we are better off at the table than away from the table,' " Thagard said. "We are going to go to the table and see what we can do to work on those wild sheep/domestic sheep issues."

Thagard said he told the governor the foundation remains unhappy with the law.

Other parties said they are not willing to return to the talks as long as the controversial law remains on the books. When the Nez Perce Tribe pulled out, Chairman Samuel N. Penney said "Unfortunately, the passage of SB1232 into law on May 7 compromises the Idaho Collaborative process beyond repair. Legislating the outcome and codifying the Department of Fish and Game's policy on bighorn sheep management precludes the need and leaves no room for future collaborative efforts."

Keith Lawrence, director of the tribe's wildlife department said that still stands.

Rick Johnson of the Idaho Conservation League also said Thursday there is no room for negotiations as long as the law is on the books.

"That is Idaho policy and we have not seen any indication that is going to change."

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Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.